I don’t know a better way to start the day — any day, but especially a holiday — than with the Bach Motets.

Before I go any further with this post I should give you a couple of caveats.

I am the least critical music-lover in the world. I will listen to just about anything, and the more I listen to a recording the more I like it. Honestly, if music is performed with conviction (I was going to say passion, but no, conviction is the better word), I will probably like it. This is quite a contrast to how I am about books, by the way. I am very picky about books.

I have an embarrassing capacity for listening to the same recording over and over and over again. I am famous for having to replace worn-out CDs (and LPs, back in the day). I believe this is what makes me a good Suzuki mom. I have no problem listening to my kids play the same damn thing again and again. I have no problem listening to the recordings with them either. In fact, like I said before, the more I listen to something, the more I like it. Even if it’s just Go Tell Aunt Rhody.

Ok, so now that you know to take everything I say about music with a huge grain of salt, let me just say that there is no better way to start your morning than with Bach motets. The masses and passions are wonderful too, but there is something so joyful in the motets — so joyful and serious at the same time — that my heart just about explodes when I hear them. They feel like Christmas carols, but they’re not. You can listen to them year-round, guilt-free.

Today is Thanksgiving, and of the many things I am so very very thankful for, high among them is the music of J.S. Bach.

Advertisements

Related

About Daxie

I walk the dog, volunteer on the PTO, read obsessively, work freelance, and try to make sense of this crazy world.